


Breaking and Healing

by swiftishere



Series: MSA One-Shots [33]
Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: After a Case, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, In Medias Res Intro, Medium!Arthur (Mystery Skulls Animated), Post-Canon, Post-Reconciliation, ambiguously lewthur maybe, huddling for warmth but in a magic way, lewis is sad. everyone's sad but mostly lewis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:40:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29793429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swiftishere/pseuds/swiftishere
Summary: On a case, it turns out the gang might have bit off a little more than they can chew. Lewis gets hurt before anyone realizes what's going on, and by the time Arthur gets there he's already fading away. He's desperate to help him.His powers as a medium respond.
Relationships: Arthur & Lewis & Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated), Arthur & Lewis (Mystery Skulls Animated)
Series: MSA One-Shots [33]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1440190
Kudos: 30





	Breaking and Healing

**Author's Note:**

> finished up an old wip for Mystery March day 1!  
> i hate mystery's characterization in this but also i know it's just fanon mystery and nobody else will think anything's wrong with it so whatever lmao  
> e: MY ITALICS

Lewis floats backwards, motion jittery, seemingly caught between freezing and fleeing - and then his already faint form vanishes entirely, and the sinking heart drops. Arthur lunges, and manages to snatch it from the air before it hits the ground.

He holds the heart tight in his hands. The familiar warmth, the feeling of comfort and safety, is almost gone, leaving the metal cold and lifeless. He swallows back a sob and looks around. No sign of Vivi or Mystery yet. But that beat is barely more than a faint tremor, and he can feel it starting to fall apart in his hands...

No, _no_ , he can't let this keep going. He folds the heart to his chest, doubling over it, hoping to share his body heat or his heartbeat or _something, anything_ he can give to not let it _shatter_.

For a long moment, the world is silent save for the sound of his ragged breathing, broken by quiet sobs and whimpers. His hands are starting to feel numb from clutching the anchor so tight, but a low heat begins to pulse against his chest, a slowed-down match to his own racing heart.

Good, that's _good_ , Lewis will be okay - _everything_ will be okay as long as he _doesn't let go_. His arms are starting to shake, and the whole world is fuzzy, but it's _okay_ , because there's that familiar warmth, nestled next to his heart even as the rest of his body grows cold.

...is he falling forward... or is it just vertigo?

He holds on to that little anchor-point of warmth, a light he can see behind his eyes, as everything else drifts away.

* * *

Vivi and Mystery walk into the room where Arthur had gone, and freeze for a moment.

Arthur's lying on the floor, unconscious and visibly shivering even from here, a spot of faint gold loosely cupped in his hands.

Both of them rush forward together. He's holding Lewis's anchor, which is glowing weakly and covered in spiderweb cracks. Full of _his_ life, and it isn't hard for Mystery to guess what's made Arthur so weak - he's used his power as a medium, and willingly shared his soul's energy with Lewis, to keep the heart from shattering. He'd given so _much_ and it's still so _broken_. Lewis may still not be able to regenerate on his own, but at the same time, Arthur doesn’t have much strength left to lose, and if he does...

Conflicted and desperate, Mystery lunges forward and takes the heart in his teeth, moving as quickly as he can so as not to stay close to Arthur for any longer than he has to. It isn't hard, and then he starts to back up-

-but then, as Vivi's reaching for Arthur, he rouses, just a little bit - and with a weak, frightened gasp, reaches forward and, in a motion that makes Mystery flinch, snatches the anchor right out of his mouth. 

He promptly curls up around it again, even tighter now, fresh tear-tracks running down his face. Mystery just whines, scrambling back. That even barely awake, Arthur could have brought himself to do _that_ , he could scarcely believe. Reached into the mouth of a monster, to get Lewis's heart. To... protect his friend, from...

"Mystery!" Vivi's voice sharp as ice, jolts him out of his thoughts. She's hunched over Arthur's shaking form, hand hovering uncertainly over his folded-up arms, where the heart would be if they could see it. "Is that thing- is it going to-"

Right. He starts thinking again, giving the two - one living, the other dead, both barely hanging on to each other - a careful sniff. They've shared so much energy they're barely distinguishable anymore, but... "...it doesn't matter now. It isn't actively draining him, but anchor or no, we need to get somewhere safe." "I'm taking it."

He jumps, torn between lunging forward and flinching back. "No, _don't_ \- ...taking it from him will only cause him more stress, and that's the last thing he needs now. You saw what he did for- just let him hold it."

He gives her a look, and she lowers her hand.

"If we get him home..."

"The wards around the house should give him some strength back. He'll recover on his own, in time, but they'll help." He sighs and bows his head. "He's _fine_ , Vivi. Please trust me."

She swallows hard. "Okay. G- let's- take him home."

_Take them **both** home_, Mystery corrects in his mind, but doesn't say out loud. 

* * *

Vivi carries Arthur into the house, draped awkwardly around her and still holding tight to the heart. She sets him down on the bed - Lewis's, because it's easiest to get to, and definitely _not_ because she was on autopilot and subconsciously steered herself there. For a moment she debates whether to tuck him in, too, but ultimately decides against it - she doesn't want to jostle him any more, and he'll probably want to leave as soon as he wakes up anyway.

She leaves the room and finds Mystery waiting on the couch, staring out the window with as much solemn dignity as a tiny dog can muster.

"Does he... seem alright?" he asks her hesitantly, as she sits down next to him.

"I don't _know_ ," she snaps back, with more force than she meant to use. She shouldn't be annoyed, he's just worried - but she and Mystery _both_ know that no amount of ancestral power has given her the ability to sense spirits. The only possible clue she can glean about his condition is that he isn't awake yet.

If he's bothered by that, he doesn't show it. He sighs and lays his head on her leg.

"They'll be alright," he tells her. "Both of them."

"Right. My best friend and that _ghost_ I'm supposed to _care about._ " Her voice is acidic, but this time, she doesn't really care. "Even after he almost gets Arthur _killed_ , _**again**_ -"

"Vivi-"

"I know-"

"- _he_ was almost lost, too. If-"

"I don't _care_!" 

Mystery's ears flick back, and he stops talking, turning away from her and back towards the window. It's quiet for a moment.

"I just..." tears are welling in her eyes. "I don't understand why this... this ghost means so _much_ to him. That he'd do _this_ for him..." she sniffs. "After he- hunted him, tried to _kill him_ , _hated_ him? Blamed him for things he never did and wanted him _dead_ over it? Why should _he_ get to be _forgiven?"_

"Vivi," Mystery cautions. The fire in her voice is starting to sound too much like the old Lewis she's railing against.

"I know, I know. But I- it's hard for me not to look at... at him, at _them_ , and not just see... another person Arthur's letting push him around, because he feels like he has to."

Mystery's heart aches at hearing that. If only she could _understand_ just how _far_ from the truth she was. "You know Arthur's feelings are genuine. He cares for Lewis, enough to fight _you_ over it."

"I know, I know. I just..." she sighs, and her gaze wanders away. "I know Lewis is important to him. And I know- all the stuff everyone's said, about who he was."

_Who he_ ** _is_** , Mystery adds.

"But I don't remember it. And the worst part is - I can _feel_ myself not remembering. I _know_ there's a block there, that there's a _gap_ , but... knowing isn't making it go away any faster." She kicks at the floor, brow furrowed. "And it's his fault, and I'm mad at him for that - but I also feel bad, because I _know_ he doesn't want it there. He never meant to do this to me, and now... I have no idea who he is."

"Give it time. And trust. If not in Lewis and I-" _and I couldn't blame you if you didn't_ , he thinks somberly, "-then in Arthur."

She nods weakly. "I... I'm trying."

* * *

Lewis wakes up first, and he feels… strange.

Mostly he feels _tired_. Everything’s _heavy_ , and his body aches like he’s just run a marathon, and there’s a funny feeling of static in his head. It’s been a long time since he really felt tired.

He forces his eyes open. The first thing he registers is that he’s in bed – _his_ bed – and there’s Arthur next to him, looking fast asleep. His anchor is folded tight against his chest. It looks pretty sad, pale grey and covered in cracks. Huh. He remembers it being damaged, but not… _that_ badly. No wonder he feels so awful.

He reaches out and touches it. There’s little more than a flicker in response – its usual beat is faint enough to be almost invisible, and it’s barely warm at all. He can see a faint golden glow at the center, almost entirely covered by Arthur’s hands, but other than that, it’s entirely colorless. Or, no, not _entirely_ – around the edges of the cracks, something he’d mistaken for reflections of his own glow at first, are thin lines of pink.

He lets himself fall back onto the bed, and finds himself staring at Arthur’s face. He looks pretty bad too – tired and drained, even asleep, with dark shadows under his eyes. -Was _he_ attacked, too? A jolt of fear goes through him at the thought – but when he reaches out, he finds he’s not _hurt_ , just… faint. _Drained_ , he repeats in his head.

What happened after…? He tries to remember, but all that comes back is the jeering and sharp claws of the monster, as it did its best to cut his body to ribbons and kept repeating things it shouldn’t have been _able_ to know. _You monster. Look at yourself, full of anger and hate and violence. Why are you pretending? You should have disappeared long ago, and you’re putting all your so-called friends in danger with your selfishness. Just give it up already._

Despite himself – despite the fact that he _knows_ it was lying – he still feels tears welling up again, as he replays its words. He folds himself up against Arthur, letting his face rest in his hair, and does his best to cry quietly.

After a while he feels him stir, and pulls back a bit to meet his eyes. Arthur just stares at him for a moment in silence – and then his expression shifts and suddenly he throws one arm around his shoulders, the other one still holding the anchor tight.

_“Lewis,”_ he half-whispers into his chest, sounding scared and relieved and thankful all at once. “‘was- was s-s-so worried…”

“Worried?” he echoes. His voice sounds funny to him, buzzing oddly.

“You- your a- your heart, it… it…” he sniffs, and the hand holding the locket shifts a little. “I… I th-thought it was gonna… that- th-that you were… _broken_ …”

“Oh,” he breathes. “No- no. I’m here. I’m okay.” He pulls him closer, his thin frame almost disappearing in his arms.

He feels a little selfish admitting it, even to himself, but having Arthur here, so upset by the very _thought_ of him disappearing, is… it’s reassuring. It directly contradicts the anxiety hanging over him.

Both of them start a little when the door clicks open, and they look up to see Vivi standing there. Her face tightens when she sees Lewis, expression unreadable.

They sit up a little. Still holding the locket, Arthur pulls himself higher and folds his other arm around Lewis, almost… protectively.

Vivi turns her attention to Arthur first. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired… but fine.”

It takes Lewis a moment to realize she’s staring at him now, and a moment longer to accept that the question was directed at _both_ of them. “I… I’m okay. I don’t think I’ll be… a hundred percent for a while, but… I’m fine.”

She nods, exhaling heavily.

“Vivi…” Lewis speaks up, prompting her to turn her eyes towards him. “What happened? I don’t…”

“Your anchor got broken. Arthur used his own life to heal it.”

“…oh."

He waits for a jab from her, an accusation or judgement, as he’s come to expect any time Arthur helps him… but none comes. Her voice is a little pointed, and her expression certainly isn’t _friendly_ , but… it’s the first time in a long while since she didn’t look _disgusted_ by him.

She swallows thickly and looks between the two of them. After another moment, her gaze lands on Arthur. “You… have to be more careful.”

He just leans on Lewis a little harder with a hum of acknowledgement.

Lewis waits for the parting warning, but once again, she just… doesn’t say anything. She turns and leaves, shutting the door behind her, without another word to him.

“Did she…” even Lewis isn’t sure where he’s going with the question, lingering in the air as he stares at the door.

Arthur huffs a sigh and lays back down, pulling Lewis to the bed with him.

There’s a moment of silence, and then Lewis speaks. “Should I… do you want me to take my anchor back?” 

Arthur blinks, squinting like he’s having a hard time keeping his eyes open. “Oh- I mean, if- if you want, but… I… I like to- to hold it. I want to… keep it s-s-safe.”

“Oh.”

For a while the only sound is Arthur’s breathing.

“Did you really… do that? Share your… your life…?”

“I guess?” He shrugs, looking away. “Not on p-purpose. I was just… scar- sc-scared that you’d disappear, and I- I guess…”

It takes him a moment to form a response to that. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You didn’t.” The answer is quick and easy.

Lewis just stares at him for a moment, brow furrowing, and then he shifts a little, curling up and pressing his head against Arthur’s chest. He feels a little… silly, embarrassed maybe, needing comfort like this, but… he pushes it aside.

He thinks about saying something else. _Thank you_ , or _I’m sorry_ , or _I love you._ But instead he just closes his eyes, feeling the rhythm of Arthur’s heartbeat and the quiet, living warmth of his chest, and lets himself drift into a comfortable, thoughtless sleep.


End file.
